Climate change

To contain global warming to 2°C, global emissions of greenhouse gases will need to decrease by 70% by 2050[1] . In all our areas of activity we are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and invent solutions to avoid them.

COMMITMENT

2020 OBJECTIVES

Capture more than 60% of methane[2] in the waste disposal facilities we manage.

100 million CO2 equivalent tons of emissions reduced over the period 2015- 2020

50 million CO2 equivalent tons of emissions avoided over the period 2015- 2020

The company has at its disposal a number of tools to help reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions: firstly by reducing emissions from the facilities it manages (energy efficiency, optimizing operational performance, using renewable energy, methane destruction, through some of the Group’s operating methods), secondly through its activities (including recovery of energy or materials) helping third parties avoid emissions.

2018 PERFORMANCE

PDF

Protocol for the Measurement and Reporting of Environment Indicators
(1.81 MB)

total reduced emissions since 2015 = 63 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent

Emissions avoided: 24 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent

57.7%
of methane captured

Avoided emissions refer to measures to recover energy and materials from waste.

Veolia provides global solutions for cities and industry through its integrated water-energy-waste expertise:

Mitigation solutions based on the circular economy:

► Recycling and recovery of waste, to reduce GHG emissions associated with the extraction of raw materials
► ​Renewable energy production (heat and electricity from waste or biomass to fuel energy installations)
► Energy efficiency and heat networks (optimization of large district heating networks in for example in Warsaw, Poland and Harbin, China)

Adaptation and resilience solutions: for example, recycling of water to limit pressure on resources and conflicts of use in water-stressed areas; control of sanitation systems during rainfall to prevent flooding, and continuity plans for the provision of essential services when extreme events occur. Our new partnership with Swiss Re also illustrates our offering in relation to mitigating the consequences of climate change.

[1] According to the last IPCC report 2014.
[2] Methane is a greenhouse gas with a significant global warming potential in the waste storage centers.